Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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It was definitely an icy day yesterday. We stayed comfy inside with the fireplace putting out a lot of heat, which cut down on the heat pump usage. Today's sunny, so the ice is melting fast, and the wind is high enough to dry off the damp surfaces. So even though it will drop into the 20s again tonight, we won't have an ice issue tomorrow. In fact, we'll be back up into the 60s by Friday.
Spotacus went outside yesterday several times, but it was just too cold on his feet to go out to Mount Poopmore. He was reduced to using the litter box. Poor guy. To make matters worse, his annual physical and shots are this Friday. I expect he'll be seriously put out with me until Saturday some time...
Time to get a couple more things done before I work at the library tonight. Later, y'all.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Czarny, black cat
Rainbow Bridge: Spotacus, Alexander the Grrreat, and so very many more
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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We're not at all accustomed to days and days of freezing temps. Why, I had to wear SOCKS yesterday! Even put on a long-sleeve sweater and wore my down jacket to the library evening shift (my lined windbreaker would have been fine, but I've been sick and wasn't taking any chances).
So far:
The deer water trough froze nearly 3" thick. No problem; stood the ice sheet on its side so the deer still have water access, and the ice will melt back into the trough as we warm back up.
The lawn hydrant to which our resident friends' Fifth Wheel is connected cracked on the head. No problem; bypassed it via the water softener in the garage a few feet away until it's warm enough (tomorrow) to replace the head, then add electric warming tape to avoid a second round.
As a result, they didn't have water until the bypass. Meanwhile, they double-checked that the hose run from spigot to FW had its electric heat tape properly installed and working. No problem.
The old chlorine dispenser in the swimming pool piping shattered into three big pieces. Minor problem. The ensuing leak is small enough to not be a concern until we can pull the remains away and put in new pipe this weekend. The new chlorine dispenser is working just fine. WLToo just hadn't bothered to remove the old one - can't avoid it now.
The pool pump switch isn't working. Can't turn it off (that in itself isn't bad, keeps the water moving and not freezing in the pipes). Minor to major problem. When the temps at night stay above freezing (this weekend), we'll check to see if it simply froze in the working position. If so, it should work fine after warming up. If not, potential major problem, as it could burn out the pump, which we replaced just a couple years ago. Why would it burn out the pump? Because there's a leak in the hot tub (connected to the pool), and we can't get it fixed until the temps are much warmer than now. Already got the estimate for leak repair and new plaster ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/eek.gif "eek") . Just need some warmer temps so they can do it. Meanwhile, since there's a chance of rain several days this month, WLToo is rigging up a roof gutter to swimming pool run, so we can keep the pool water level where the pump can function properly and we don't have a giant water bill.
The fireplace is sure proving its worth. This local design puts out so much heat that the heat pump hardly has to kick on at all, thereby saving electricity.
The joys of homeownership... ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/rolleyes.gif "rolleyes")
A doe walked by the house this morning, limping a little. Most likely slipped on the ice and strained something.
It's above freezing and partly sunny, so Spotacus is sitting on the south porch. Was startled to realize that he's nearly ten years old already. Guess it's time for the old cat exam tomorrow.
I feel right sorry for you folks who live where it's truly cold. I do NOT miss shoveling 4' of snow every few weeks. Don't miss owning a snow shovel at all.
Y'all stay safe and warm.
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garry1p
Oklahoma
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Joined: 08/12/2004
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Can you turn off the pump at the circuit breaker?
Garry1p
1990 Holiday Rambler Aluma Lite XL
454 on P-30 Chassis
1999 Jeep Cherokee sport
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Stephany
Brier, WA (just north of Seattle)
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Great idea to extend a gutter from the roof to the pool!
Stephany
Stephany & Wally Schneider + 2 grown kids, a ball-obsessed beagle, and a camping cat
2004 Sunnybrook 2850SL
2002 GMC 2500HD Duramax crew cab short bed
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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Joined: 10/30/2009
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Weather comes and weather goes. House mechanicals mostly go ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/biggrin.gif "biggrin")
Are you going to throw a birthday party for Spotacus?
* This post was
edited 01/19/18 07:25am by magnusfide *
"The only time you should fear cast iron is if your wife is fixin' to hit you with it."-Kent Rollins
First law of science: don't spit into the wind.
Magnus
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Garry, we don't want to turn it off until the freezing temps are past. We'll know this weekend if it was just a frozen switch.
A birthday party for Spotacus? Hadn't thought of that, but we just might do that in July. Good excuse for a party.
Damp and foggy today. Good - we really, really need the damp. When it gets into the 40s today, I'll open the doors for a little while, to get some of that moisture into the air in here. Nearly shocked my finger and Spotcaus' ear off from static a bit ago. Only 28% humidity in the house to the 90% outside.
Spotacus is avoiding me now - with good reason. He'll have even better reason to avoid me this afternoon, after I stuff him into a carrier for his vet appointment...
Lunchtime. Later, y'all.
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Spotacus called everyone nasty names from the moment we arrived at the vet until we walked out. He didn't strike out, though, just mouthed off. He's healthy, other than whatever it is that gives his skin the creepy crawlies.
Then, just as we opened the pickup back door, his carrier literally broke into three pieces, and he dashed under another vehicle. Luckily, that's as far as he went. Took a few minutes to talk him out, then we put him in the back seat. He laid down in the bottom piece of the carrier and was perfectly fine all the way home. However, I did have to warn Short Friend to not try and play with him last night; he was a mite grumpy after three shots.
Vet suggested we give him ½ a Zyrtec daily for the skin issue. Since I have plenty of that, I cut several in half. We're still trying to figure out how to give him a pill; he's not at all disposed to take pills. I suspect lots of experimenting before we find something that might work.
But first, we need to stock up on bandaids...
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dturm
Lake County, IN
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Comes in many flavors...
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/KQE2Kq3l.jpg)
Doug & Sandy
Kaylee (16-year-old Terrier of some sort)
Winnie 4 1/2 year old golden
Sasha and many others at the Rainbow Bridge
2008 Southwind
2009 Honda CRV
Check out blog.rv.net
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Stephany
Brier, WA (just north of Seattle)
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Sadly, pill pockets make my kitty barf. I coat a pill or capsule generously in butter, hold her by the nape of the neck with one hand and pry her mouth open with 2 fingers on the other hand, then I stick the pill on the back of her tongue and follow it immediately with a syringe-full of water. Then I hold her mouth shut until she swallows, and we're done.
It sounds involved, but it isn't. It becomes very smooth unless she gets in a mood and starts swinging her head. Occasionally, she brings out the claws so I cover her with a blanket and then proceed.
There are also pilling syringes, but neither of my cats was receptive to them and I thought it was hard to control.
Good luck!
Stephany
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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Joined: 10/30/2009
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I'm glad Spotacus didn't run into traffic! Our vet had us give one cat Children's Benadryl with a liquid med syringe. Another cat would gladly take any pill we ground up and put into a dollop of Cheez Whiz or yogurt.
Our cats would cuss and scratch too. The Cheez Whiz cat got along fine with everyone at the vet because they always had some waiting for her.
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